Go to a specific date

Explore

The Public Inspection page
on FederalRegister.gov
offers a preview of documents scheduled to appear in the next day's
Federal Register issue. The Public Inspection page may also
include documents scheduled for later issues, at the request
of the issuing agency.

Document Details

A single point of contact or other interested state or local entities may submit written comments regarding AML and regulatory funding by December 15, 2016.

Comments Close:

12/15/2016

Document Type:

Notice

Document Citation:

81 FR 71531

Page:

71531
(1 page)

Agency/Docket Numbers:

S1D1S SS08011000 SX066A0067F 167S180110

S2D2S SS08011000 SX066A000 33F16XS501520

Document Number:

2016-25016

Document Details

Enhanced Content - Table of Contents

This tables of contents is a navigational tool, processed from the
headings within the legal text of Federal Register documents.
This repetition of headings to form internal navigation links
has no substantive legal effect.

Enhanced Content - Sharing

Enhanced Content - Document Print View

Enhanced Content - Document Print View

Enhanced Content - Document Tools

These tools are designed to help you understand the official document
better and aid in comparing the online edition to the print edition.

These markup elements allow the user to see how the document follows the
Document Drafting Handbook
that agencies use to create their documents. These can be useful
for better understanding how a document is structured but
are not part of the published document itself.

Enhanced Content - Developer Tools

Official Content

Official Content

Public Inspection

This PDF is
the current document as it appeared on Public Inspection on
10/14/2016 at 08:45 am.

If you are using public inspection listings for legal research, you
should verify the contents of the documents against a final, official
edition of the Federal Register. Only official editions of the
Federal Register provide legal notice to the public and judicial notice
to the courts under 44 U.S.C. 1503 & 1507.
Learn more here.

Public Inspection

Published Document

This document has been published in the Federal Register. Use the PDF linked in the document sidebar for the official electronic format.

Start Preamble

AGENCY:

Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

We, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, are notifying the public that we intend to grant funds to eligible applicants for purposes authorized under the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Reclamation Program. Additionally, we are notifying the public that we intend to grant funds to eligible applicants for regulating coal mining within their jurisdictional borders under the Regulatory Program. We will award these grants during fiscal year 2017.

DATES:

A single point of contact or other interested state or local entities may submit written comments regarding AML and regulatory funding by December 15, 2016.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Grant Notification

We are notifying the public that we intend to grant funds to eligible applicants for purposes authorized under the AML Reclamation Program. Additionally, we are notifying the public that we intend to grant funds to eligible applicants for regulating coal mining within their jurisdictional borders under the Regulatory Program. We will award these grants during fiscal year 2017. Eligible applicants are those states and Indian tribes with a regulatory program, regulatory development program, and/or reclamation plan approved under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA), as amended, 30 U.S.C. 1201et seq., and the State of Tennessee. Under Executive Order (E.O.) 12372, we must provide state and tribal officials the opportunity to review and comment on proposed federal financial assistance activities. Of the eligible applicants, nineteen states or Indian tribes do not have single points-of-contact under the E.O.12372 review process; therefore, we are required to publish this notice as an alternate means of notification.

Description of the AML Program

SMCRA established the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund to receive the AML fees used to finance reclamation of AML coal mine sites. Title IV of SMCRA authorizes the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to provide grants to eligible states and Indian tribes that are funded from permanent (mandatory) appropriations. Recipients use these funds to reclaim the highest priority AML coal mine sites that were left abandoned prior to the enactment of SMCRA in 1977, eligible non-coal sites, projects that address the impacts of mineral development, and non-reclamation projects.

Description of the Regulatory Program

Title VII of SMCRA authorizes the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement to provide grants to states and Indian tribes to develop, administer, and enforce state regulatory programs addressing the disturbance from coal mining operations. Title V and Title VII authorize states to develop regulatory programs pursuant to SMCRA, and upon approval of regulatory programs, to assume regulatory primacy and act as the regulatory authority, and to administer and enforce their respective approved SMCRA regulatory programs. Our regulations at Title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Chapter VII implement the provisions of SMCRA.